Tag Archives: death penalty

Join Susan Sarandon: End the Death Penalty in New Hampshire

April 1, 2014 at 1:06 PM
(Photo Credit: Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic)

(Photo Credit: Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic)

By Susan Sarandon, Actress and Humanitarian

Playing Sister Helen Prejean in the film “Dead Man Walking” was my awakening to the deep injustice of the death penalty.

The more I learned about the death penalty, the more I knew I had to raise my voice against it.

Just a couple weeks ago, Glenn Ford, an African American man convicted by an all-white jury, was released from a Louisiana prison after serving 30 years on death row for a murder he did not commit.

The state stole 30 years from Glenn’s life and almost killed him because of its mistake.

18 states have abolished this barbaric practice, and Amnesty International’s State Death Penalty Abolition Coordinators are working with the movement in their respective states to put an end to the death penalty across the country. New Hampshire may be next. Please join me now to help make that happen.

Sign Amnesty’s petition calling for an end to the death penalty in New Hampshire.

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Time Running Out for Man Sentenced to Death in Iraq

March 28, 2014 at 11:30 AM

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By Said Haddadi, Amnesty International Iraq Researcher

Osama Jamal Abdallah Mahdi, a 32-year-old father of two, has now spent more than two years on death row in Iraq for a crime he says he didn’t commit.

His uncle is now his only hope. From his home in Wichita, Kansas more than 6,000 miles away, Musadik Mahdi is spearheading a campaign for his nephew’s release.

The Iraqi-born engineer has contacted Congressmen, diplomats, the media and NGOs, including Amnesty International, in an attempt to get Osama’s conviction overturned. And time is running out – Musadik fears that Osama could be dragged to the gallows any day now.

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ACT NOW: End the Death Penalty in Delaware

March 27, 2014 at 11:19 AM
Delaware is closer than ever to abolishing the death penalty - but we need your help to win (Photo Credit: Mike Simons/Getty Images).

Delaware is closer than ever to abolishing the death penalty – but we need your help to win (Photo Credit: Mike Simons/Getty Images).

By Abraham J. Bonowitz, Delaware State Death Penalty Abolition Coordinator

I have been in the heart of the campaign to end the death penalty for years, and Delaware is closer than ever to abolishing this ultimate denial of human rights – but we need your help to win.

Even if you have already done so, if you live in Delaware, it’s time again to tell your legislators to vote “Yes” on SB-19, Delaware’s Death Penalty Repeal bill.

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The Top 10 Things You Need to Know About Amnesty’s Death Penalty Report

March 26, 2014 at 7:50 PM

Today, Amnesty International released its annual report on the use of the death penalty worldwide. Although 2013 saw more executions than in previous years and several countries resuming executions, there was also progress towards abolition in all regions of the world. Below, see the top 10 things you need to know from our newest report:

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5 Death Penalty Myths Debunked

March 25, 2014 at 7:00 PM

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In advance of the release of our 2014 Global Death Penalty Report tomorrow, here are 5 of the most common misconceptions about the death penalty.

MYTH #1
The death penalty deters violent crime and makes society safer.

FACT
There is no convincing evidence that the death penalty has a unique deterrent effect.

More than three decades after abolishing the death penalty, Canada’s murder rate remains over one third lower than it was in 1976.

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Changing Hearts and Minds in India

March 25, 2014 at 8:00 AM
Amnesty staff in India speak to Gnanapragasam, one of the four men sentenced to death in 2002 in south India. All four had their sentences commuted to life on January 21, 2014 (Photo Credit: Amnesty International).

Amnesty staff in India speak to Gnanapragasam, one of the four men sentenced to death in 2002 in south India. All four had their sentences commuted to life on January 21, 2014 (Photo Credit: Amnesty International).

EDITOR’S NOTE: On Wednesday, Amnesty International will release its 2014 global Death Penalty report. Some believe that using the death penalty is fine as long as the public supports it. But history is littered with human rights violations that were supported by the majority, but were subsequently looked upon with horror, such as slavery, racial segregation and lynching. Here, independent filmmaker and Amnesty India Campaigner Kadambari Gladding, discusses turning the tide of public option in India, where public option increasingly favors the death penalty. 

“A murder for murder cannot be justice,” Mani told me as we walked down the corridor of the school he went to with his friend Simon some four decades ago. Mani still lives in the same village, while Simon has been on death row for nearly 10 years. Mani is a quiet person, but some things – like the death penalty – move him to rare, long conversations.

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BREAKING: New Hampshire House Votes to Repeal Capital Punishment

March 12, 2014 at 6:46 PM

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Back when I served as a death row attorney, I experienced first hand that the death penalty is anything but just. I was there at the trial of Bill Andrews when a note reading ‘Hang the N*****’ was found in the jury’s lunchroom. I saw people die by lethal injection and the electric chair who I believed were innocent.

But victories like today’s remind me that the tide is turning for the death penalty in America.

Today, we came one step closer to a significant victory when the New Hampshire House voted to repeal capital punishment in the state.

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Executing Innocents: What We Can Learn From Glenn Ford

March 12, 2014 at 2:48 PM
Glenn Ford (pictured here in 1984) is living proof of just how flawed our justice system truly is (Photo Credit: Private).

Glenn Ford (pictured here in 1984) is living proof of just how flawed our justice system truly is (Photo Credit: Private).

By Tessa Murphy, USA Campaigner at Amnesty International

There are two lessons the U.S. should learn from the release of Glenn Ford, a 64-year-old man who spent 28 years on death row in Louisiana for a crime he didn’t commit.

The first lesson is that the death penalty is never the answer, including because it carries the inescapable risk of executing innocent people. The second is that there are some serious problems with Louisiana’s justice system.

Glenn Ford walked out of the southern state’s infamous Angola prison late yesterday, after spending nearly three decades behind bars for a crime he’s always claimed he never committed.

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The Death Penalty is Just the Tip of an Iceberg of Injustice

March 10, 2014 at 1:29 PM
We have ended the death penalty in two thirds of the countries around the world and in 18 states in the United States. On Wednesday, New Hampshire may get a bit closer to becoming the 19th (Photo Credit: Mike Simons/Getty Images).

We have ended the death penalty in two thirds of the countries around the world and in 18 states in the United States. On Wednesday, New Hampshire may get a bit closer to becoming the 19th (Photo Credit: Mike Simons/Getty Images).

 

This post originally appeared in the Huffington Post under the title, “The Death Penalty Is The Tip of an Iceberg of Injustice.”

For much of my working, adult life, I have been witness to the consequences of our country’s addiction to the death penalty, and to the damage it does even as we loosen its grip.

This week, we at Amnesty International USA and anti-death penalty activists around the country hope to witness a moment we will one day say was another important step towards our collective recovery.

Wednesday, March 12, the New Hampshire House of Representatives will vote on a bill that, when signed into law, would end the death penalty in the state. Thirty-two states throughout this country have yet to rid themselves of a punishment that is not just cruel, unfair and expensive, but is tainted with human error.

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Have You Seen This Powerful Statement From a Death Row Inmate?

March 7, 2014 at 2:00 PM
In December 2013, Gawker sent letters to all U.S. death row inmates who had executions scheduled in the upcoming year. They received their first reply from Ray Jasper, who is scheduled to be put to death on March 19 (Photo Credit: Gawker)

In December 2013, Gawker sent letters to all U.S. death row inmates who had executions scheduled in the upcoming year. They received their first reply from Ray Jasper, who is scheduled to be put to death on March 19 (Photo Credit: Gawker)

On March 19th, 2014, Ray Jasper is scheduled to be executed in Texas. Amnesty International USA is sharing his words below from a letter posted on Gawker where Ray Jasper acknowledges that this letter “could be my final statement on earth.”

Amnesty International USA has issued an urgent action calling on Texas to not execute Ray Jasper on March 19th.

Mr. Nolan,

When I first responded to you, I didn’t think that it would cause people to reach out to me and voice their opinions. I’ve never been on the internet in my life and I’m not fully aware of the social circles on the internet, so it was a surprise to receive reactions so quickly.

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